Mr Dinesh Trivedi decided to resign as railway minister on Sunday evening shortly before his party boss, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, reached the national capital later in the night.
Trinamul Congress leaders said the minister quit bowing to the party’s diktat, but it was speculated Mr Trivedi resigned following a signal from the Prime Minister’s Office. The PMO, however, denied till late Sunday that it had got any resignation letter.
Speaking to reporters, Mr Trivedi said: “I spoke to my party leader Mamata Banerjee to get clarity. She was kind enough to tell me (to resign). I have a lot of respect for her. I stand by the discipline of the party.”
Ms Banerjee wants the Centre to appoint her nominee, minister of state for shipping, Mukul Roy, as railway minister in the next 48 hours. Earlier Sunday, Trinamul’s parliamentary leader Sudip Bandopadhyaya virtually threatened to withdraw support to the government if it tried to get the Railway Budget passed with Mr Trivedi as minister.
Ms Banerjee told reporters in Kolkata before leaving for New Delhi: “He (Trivedi) told me over the phone that he wants to resign. He also told me he would not quit the Trinamul Congress, and follow the party’s instructions.”
Trinamul sources in Kolkata said Ms Banerjee was going to New Delhi to attend a Trinamul parliamentary party meeting at 2 pm on Monday afternoon. Mr Mukul Roy is accompanying her. A source added: “This meeting will be a very important one in the context of ongoing developments.”
Mr Trivedi, who had been defying Ms Banerjee’s diktat to quit saying it was his constitutional duty to pilot the Railway Budget through, apparently decided to resign after word came from the PMO. The Congress leadership and the Prime Minister had told Ms Banerjee her demand for Mr Trivedi’s replacement would be carried out after the Union Budget was presented in Parliament on Friday.